Archive for February, 2009

Seth Godin is one of my favorite authors, bloggers, and visionaries. This interview at the TED Conference is particularly relevant for us in our industry today. It’s about surrounding yourself with your own Tribe of followers who “get” what you are all about. It fosters excellence and propagates that message.

Besides those two enormously important factors, surrounding yourself with advocates allows you to concentrate and focus your efforts at being excellent at what you do, whatever that may be. It is KEY to what we need to do today to get the economy back on track and protect our own business. Focus on influencing those areas where you are being heard. If you aren’t being heard or you don’t have a complelling story, you’re condemning yourself to a frustrated life of mediocrity surrounded by a crowd that doesn’t understand or appreciate you.

You can check out more of Seth Godin on his blog at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ or his main page at http://www.sethgodin.com

I recently read a post by one of my Facebook friends regarding establishing value:

What is a good way to guarantee high price services (such as graphic design) besides guaranteeing a membership fee?

We agonize over this. A great way to start is to make a list of how many things you do that add value, whether you are currently charging or not. When you are done, put a $$ amount next to each value item. My list has 24 items.

I used to think I worked primarily in a commodity driven industry (printed t shirts.) When all is said and done, our clients will have a much better idea of exactly what we do, how it will benefit them, and what to expect. It also acts to level the field between you and your competition because I guarantee none of your competitors are doing this. If your customers are shopping, you have now given them a comprehensive list for comparison of apples to apples.

Here are some of the things you use to separate yourself from your competition: